Holocaust Memorial Bill clears parliament’s select committee stage
Cross-party Lords committee, chaired by former senior judge Lord Etherton, is satisfied with assurances over controversial project given to him by Secretary of State
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The Holocaust Memorial Bill has cleared the select committee stage in UK Parliament after peers set out new details of assurances they had received from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
A cross-party Lords committee, chaired by former senior judge and Head of Civil Justice Lord Etherton, was set up to hear evidence and arguments from people who petitioned against the plans and also on behalf of the Secretary of State.
The committee was satisfied with the assurances given to them as well as an official undertaking given by the government on proposals for the project to be built in Westminster.
The cross-party Lords committee, chaired by former senior judge and Head of Civil Justice Lord Etherton, was set up to hear evidence and arguments from people who petitioned against the plans and also on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Their focus was on the private interests affected, and not the general public policy arguments around the memorial and learning centre or the fundamental principle of the Bill, which was agreed by the House of Lords at second reading.
In a new report, assurances are demanded from Communities Secretary Angela Rayner that parliamentary authorities will be consulted about any security considerations for the project and that these representations will be put in the public domain.
The committee also calls for restrictions on public access to Victoria Tower Gardens, where the Memorial and Learning Centre is due to be erected, during construction to be kept to a minimum, including for the children’s playground and that tep-free access will be maintained via the Northern gate and for as much time as possible from the Southern gate during the works.
Chair of the Committee Lord Etherton said: “Successive governments have committed to building this important memorial and learning centre dedicated to providing a place of education and reflection for the public about the horrors of the Holocaust.
“This report highlights some important concerns which need to be addressed, including the need to keep Victoria Tower Gardens as accessible as possible and communicating any security implications for the project.
“We were grateful to the Secretary of State for her assurances on these matters, and to the petitioners for raising such important concerns with us in evidence. We look forward to further scrutiny of the Bill in the wider House.”
The Committee further recommended that a limit be placed on the length of time that Victoria Tower Gardens can be closed to the public in one year in consequence of events associated with the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
It also called for the Secretary of State to give serious consideration to the amendments to the bill proposed by Lord Carlile, which asks her to report to Parliament within 3 months after the bill has passed, setting out the effects arising from construction, including on security and traffic changes to the area.
The Secretary of State has agreed to do this.
The Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre has been promised since 2016, when then Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the new structure would be built in Victoria Tower Gardens, close to the Houses of Parliament.
But the project, costing in excess of £100 million, has been beset by delays, legal challenges, rocketing costs, and complicated arguments in which several Holocaust survivors have themselves expressed opposition to the project.
Lord Pickles was asked recently when he believed the Memorial might finally be built, and he suggested his best guess was 2027.
One the group’s campaigning against the project, the Save Victoria Tower Gardens campaign group, said: “We welcome the few recommendations made by the Select Committee, in particular the recommendation for a limit on the amount of time that VTG can be closed to the public for events associated with the proposed HMLC, and the recommendation that the Secretary of State give serious consideration to security amendments prepared by Lord Carlile.
“However, we are very disappointed that the Committee relies on mere assurances from the Promoter, namely the Government, advised by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation committee. We consider these assurances worthless and unenforceable, from a Promoter which has consistently shown itself to be unreliable.”
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